Archive for the ‘Transcend’ category

It is hard to tell nowadays how we normally run, because we have allowed our footwear to dictate the way we run. But if we remove our footwear, will we run differently?

Brooks did a study on the effect of footwear on the way we run. More than 300 runners were involved in this study, involving all segments of the running spectrum. The runners were measured biomechanically – how their joints move and the forces applied to their body. Their demographic information was also taken – age, gender, mileage, number of years running, muscle strength, joint flexibility, and foot structure.

To get a baseline, runners are asked to run barefoot on a soft, foam surface. It is important to note that the baseline is not just barefoot running. The baseline is how you would run barefoot, andon a soft surface. By removing the footwear factor and the hard surface factor, we can see your natural running style in isolation.

Once the baseline is established, runners are asked to run with shoes, on the same soft surface. If the landing pattern with shoes is different from the landing patterns without shoes, then we know that the measures collected would not represent their natural habitual joint motion.

Next, we tried to find out which variables are influenced when you change your footwear. How much of our knee movement or ankle movement is affected by our shoes, and how far does it throw us off our natural habitual joint motion? We gathered data on more than 200 variables.

Finally, a factor analysis was done to find out the sensitivity of every variable. The goal was to find out which are the highly sensitive variables, and which are the lowly sensitive (or insensitive) ones.

We found that one of the most sensitive variables is what the biomechanical community calls the “Free Moment”.

In discovering Natural Habitual Joint Motion, Brooks has linked up with Professor Dr. Gert-Peter Brueggermann (Director of the Institute of Biomechanics and Orthopedics, German Sport University of Cologne) and Professor Dr. Joseph Hamill (Director of the Biomechanics Lab, University of Massachusetts Amherst). Both are biomechanics and footwear experts for over 30 years, and have published more than 300 journal articles.

We have found that – your biomehcanics don’t lie.

There is a way to strap you down on a machine, and examine the three primary rotations of your knee when you are running. In an experiment, we used 6 different pairs of legs, and each leg went through 10 cycles. The following results were shown:

Each pair of legs showed its desired pathway very consistently. In fact, the motion is so repeatable, all 10 cycles of the knee movement lined up on top of each other, forming a single loop.

Also, each pair of legs showed its desired pathway very uniquely. 6 pairs of legs were used, and exactly 6 loops were formed. Each leg produced only one loop. And none of the legs shared the same kind of loop pattern.

Therefore, we embrace the idea that everyone has his or her individual preferred pathway of motion. The Transcend works within that realm, rather than inhibit it or control it. This, will decipher the mystery of running comfort.

As far as running is concerned, your running habit is a body thing, not a mind thing. Let me break it down for you.

Each person’s anatomy is unique. Therefore, your anatomy gives you a unique pathway for your joints. This unique pathway gives your a bones and muscles a particular natural movement. This natural movement is performed subconsciously, outside your conscious control. When these subconscious movements are performed continuously, it forms your running habit.

Therefore, it is not strange to conclude that your habits are caused by your body – the way your bones, tendons and ligaments are joined together.

When you run naturally, you run as you.

Instead of changing your habits, a better solution is to embrace it. We call this theory “Natural Habitual Joint Motion”, or NHJM in short. When you run with your NHJM, you will run in a path of least resistance for all your joints. Naturally, you will enjoy increased performance, better efficiency, and reduced risk of injury.

When NHJM is applied correctly, you can conserve energy instead of waste energy trying to run in an unnatural way that your body resists. NHJM will allow you to focus on propelling your body forward, instead of moving your body in any other unhelpful way. This in turn will prevent wear and tear.

The Transcend utilizes the concept of NHJM, to bring harmony between your running needs and your running preference. It can do all that a shoe is supposed to do, without distorting your natural running style.

Stride Signature is the new starting point from which we define a runner’s perfect form and alignment. Perfection is no longer determined by how well your form or alignment fits a certain mould. Perfection is how well your natural and highly individual motion path is used at its best. Like your own signature, there is none more beautiful than your own.

Your Stride Signature comes about when your movements find a certain path of least resistance. When this path is found, the idea is to stay on it for as long as possible. The better you are at staying on it, the more efficient your running will be.

Your Stride Signature is controlled by your anatomy. The three areas of anatomy that interest are bones, ligaments and tendons.

Knee bone and its geometry.

Bones at our knee joint are shaped to provide a sliding rotational movement. Therefore, the geometry of our bones at the knee joint controls the preferred pathway of our knee movements. Under the examination of hundreds of x-rays, we can see that the geometry of knee bones differs between people. Therefore don’t be too harsh on yourself if your knees can’t help you to stride in a certain way. It’s in your bones.

Ligaments – primary stabilizers that connect bone to bone.

Ligaments are like rubber bands that connect a bone with another bone. They are primary stabilizers, to prevent our bones from unwanted movements. The stiffness or strength of these ligaments varies from person to person, depending on your DNA, diet, past injury history, age and exercise level. Your bone geometry sets the direction of motion, and your ligaments get you there.

Tendons – secondary stabilizers that connect muscle to bone.

Tendons connect your muscles to bones. They are secondary stabilizers, to keep your joints moving in their preferred pathways. When your motion leaves its preferred pathway, the tendons help to bring it back to the natural motion pattern. Strong muscles determine how effectively your joints return to the preferred path. Weak muscles may lead to a loss of control over your preferred motion. Have you wondered why sometimes you start to run funny after a long period of time?

During the past 5 years, running shoes and their benefits have been under the microscope like never before.

Once upon a time, the popular point of view was to make shoes as highly cushioned as possible. Therefore, shoes were decked up with cushioning to reduce injuries.

However, a theory arose that highly cushioned shoes were the cause of injuries. Therefore, there was a movement to make shoes with as little cushioning as possible. The idea is to go back to running barefoot, because running barefoot will strengthen our muscles the right way, hence reduce injuries.

Later on, a point of view arose that forefoot / midfoot running was the only way to run. This came from a belief that landing on heels is the wrong way to run. Hence, shoes were made with a specific purpose of forefoot / midfoot running only, to conform runners to run only in a certain way.

As the battle raged on between pragmatic shoe cushioning lovers and purist barefoot runners, another idea came about to reach a middle ground. Hence, minimalist shoeswere made with minimum weight and maximum flexibility. The minimum weight offers some form of light cushioning, while the maximum flexibility maintains the barefoot feel.

Each of these movements in shoe technology are small revolutions that have shaped our experience of running. But is there truth in any of these ideologies? Are they all equally correct, or is there only one correct theory?

The correct way to run is to run happy!

Based on our intensive research, we want to propose a radical shift in the running shoe paradigm.

It is a shift away from figuring out a single “correct” way to run, to better understanding your own way to run. It is about knowing yourself, and your unique stride signature.

It is a shift away from starting with broad principles, to starting with your own individual style. It is about how your happiest stride is also your correct stride.

It is a shift away from using a single factor like overpronation to judge your running form, to considering multiple factors that gives you a running pattern. It is about an non-judgmental, holistic understanding of why you run the way you run.

It is a shift away from matching the runner to the shoe, to matching the shoe to the runner. It is about making the best of what is right, instead of fixing what is wrong.